Black Wolf
by Allen Bedillion Trahurn
Summary: Ship: The Clunker.  Job: Delivery.  Cargo: CLASSIFIED.  "Easiest 100k I've ever made."  I may continue this one if anyone wants me to.
1. Prologue

**This is going to be my first one-shot that may develop into more depending on the reception it gets. This is a random idea I didn't really want to forget. Go Star Fox I loved that game when I was a kid!**

_Beep_

The black haired wolf snoozed lightly, not worried at all since his ship was on autopilot. _The Clunker_, as he called it, was actually one of the outdated models of the Arwing. Hell, they were practically giving the thing away when he found it. Thirty-seven thousand credits was nothing for a starship in the Lylat System these days, and he had to admit it was a pretty sweet deal since it was still equipped with a Dual Laser system, a Bomb Launcher that he had modified to drop a Decoy when he needed it. He called it _The Boy,_ a name reminiscent of the old fairy tale.

_Beep_

Along with the leftover weapon systems on _The Clunker_ still had a Mark VII Plasma Engine, which was both a good thing and a bad thing when one thought about it. The good thing about it was that the Mark VII was probably one of the fastest and most powerful engines despite its age, and when set up right it can pump enough juice into a Warp Drive to get you at least half-way across the galaxy in seconds. The bad thing was that it sucked up fuel like a vacuum, and with the ever rising price of fuel, travel was getting to be a bit expensive. Good thing he didn't have a Warp Drive. Not that the black haired wolf minded all that much anyway. If he needed it, he could get the money. Mercenary jobs? No problem. Scavenger missions? Sure thing. Bounty Hunting? Always. This old (though only of twenty-five years, technically) dog knew all the tricks.

_Beep_

The black haired wolf stirred in his half-doze, his hands behind his head. He wore an old military jacket (ironically one that happened to fit him at the same time he bought _The Clunker_) with the Cornerian flag on the left shoulder. The rank of the previous owner was unknown, but there was a rip where the tag had been. The wolf assumed it was dishonorable discharge that caused it, and he had never bothered getting it fixed. Under the jacket, he wore a plain green collared shirt, which matched his pants in color. On his feet were a pair of combat boots, the only new item of clothing he wore. Around his neck was a lanyard, with a laminated card with a picture of his face, his basic information, and another Cornerian flag. Currently, the black haired wolf was in a relaxed position in his seat, with his feet up on the control panel. He had a white headband over his eyes to keep out the light from the many instruments spread throughout the cockpit.

_Beep_

_The Clunker_, still in the color of a normal Arwing (though the paint was chipping away here and there), listed lazily through space on its way to Fichina to deliver some supplies to the Cornerian Defense Post, as that was the black haired wolfs current job. Everything was peaceful, and in his haze he thought, _"This job is supposedly classified. With Star Fox disbanded, they gotta rely on guys like me to do the small stuff. No hair off my ass, this'll be the easiest hundred k I've ever made."_

_Beep…beepbeepbeepbeep!_

"WARNING! WARNING! UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT APPROACHING! IMPACT IMMINENT!" the warning system blared, rousing the black haired wolf. Lazily, he lifted the headband and looked over at his radar screen. On it was a small blip, heading straight for his position at an incredible pace.

"Awh shit!" he proclaimed, jolting upright as the severity of the situation donned on him: missle hits ship, ship leaks air, and he dies. And that was if the shields were working, something he needed to get fixed. If not, the damn rocket would just blow him to smithereens. He flipped a switch and his seat clicked forward into flight position. He flipped another and the yoke, basically a stick that controlled the ship, came up from the control panel. Lastly, he flipped a final switch to turn the autopilot off.

"WARNING! IMPACT IMMINENT! TAKE EVASIVE ACTION IMMEDIATELY!"

"Yeah yeah, shut up," he yelled to the machine (_"Now I'm fighting with machines, great."_)before taking the yoke and pulling up hard. Since he was in space, and gravity was the same inside the ship, there was no G-Force for him to feel as he did this, but outside he saw a million streaks of white head straight down, and he caught a glimpse of a pale blue planet: Fichina. Figures he'd reach his destination before he got ambushed. Probably a bunch of thugs after the supplies, all military from what he could tell. Once he stopped his loop and his radar righted itself, he found that the missile (he had been assuming it was a missile) was still hot on his tail…no pun intended.

"Son of a bitch. That's it I'm dropping _The Boy_…my last one too," he said, flipping the cover over a little blue button and punching it down with his thumb. Outside, a small blue ball was shot backwards out of the Bomb Launcher. It had small antennas at four points. The black haired wolf watched as his radar exploded into a flurry of dots, and cursed the fact that his own ship wasn't equipped with something to protect it from his own Decoy. _The Boy _did its job, however, and the missile curved off and exploded, hitting the Decoy and destroying it. Ahead, three more dots appeared on his radar, and the black haired wolf looked forward to see only three ships, little things, coming toward him in a makeshift V.

"Yeah come and get some, assholes," the black haired wolf cursed, taking careful aim, "I've got a present for ya. Call it a thank you for interrupting my nap." On the opposite side of the blue button on the control panel was another covered button, but this one was red and had a skull scratched into the surface. The black haired wolf waited for the perfect moment, and as soon as the display just in front of the yoke said "Locked" he flipped the cover and slammed his fist down on the button. The Bomb Launcher, aiming directly for the center ship, fired, sending the red ball flying toward them. The thugs must have realized the threat too late, and the black haired wolf watched as the bomb exploded into a red sphere of energy, annihilating the ships. With a smirk, the black haired wolf began his descent toward Fichina.

**There you go, random idea done. If you would like to see this continue, please review. Also, should it continue, I'm taking names for the black haired wolf. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thank you!**


	2. Mission Accepted

Landing on Fichina was fairly uneventful. He landed _The Clunker_ in the maintenance bay, much to the discontent of some of the engineers, and hopped out. The black haired wolf didn't care as he landed before them, not bothering to use the wing of the craft like any other pilot would. He landed hard in a crouch while one of the engineers, a dog, came up to him.

"Uh, can I help you, sir?" the engineer asked, his voice cracking a bit, and the black haired wolf couldn't help the laugh that escaped his throat. The engineer glared at him.

"Yeah," the black haired wolf said, making it plain and obvious that he wasn't scared of the little mutt. "Displaying dominance" was basically what it was, but he thought that was too primal for his tastes. He was still thinking of a more badass way to say it.

"Well?" asked the engineer, beginning to become annoyed.

"Yeah, fill 'er up, and while you're at it get me a case of Bombs, Bomb casings, and an equal number of radio transmitters. Oh, and be careful with my rig: she's an old one, and needs to be treated like a real lady. Not that you'd know too much about that." Then, he walked off, or more like strutted, headed farther into the complex. He wasn't entirely sure where he was going, but he assumed he would find the woman he was looking for eventually. Behind him, he heard the kid behind him mutter, "Asshole," and he smiled a big, wolfish grin, true to his nature of course.

_Sometime later, Office_

"It's about time you showed up, merc," said the woman, a young rabbit by the name of Lucy Hare. Apparently, she was an astrophysicist…or a teacher…or something. All the black haired wolf knew was that she was yet another pencil pusher in the way of a solid hundred thousand credits. And the last, thank God.

"Yeah yeah, the cargo is in my ship, in the hangar," the black haired wolf replied as he pointed a thumb behind him as she approached. She was wearing…pretty much what he expected: long white lab coat, black shirt, black pants, black shoes. You know, the typical "scientist" look. He had to admit though, the look gave her a certain amount of appeal. Too bad he wasn't into girls like her.

"So, if you'll just scan my card to show I did the work, I'll be out of your hair in no time." The black haired wolf continued, taking the lanyard off and handing her the card. She grabbed it unceremoniously. The black haired wolf scratched the back of his head as she walked away to a small computer on her desk. She ran the card through a scanner and waited for the computer to process the information, looking over it with a bored expression on her face as she did so.

"Akino Timber, huh? Don't really live up to your name, do you?"

"That don't really matter, either way. Most people just call me Wolf," Akino replied, leaning up against the door frame. He was ready to go.

"Wolf, huh? You mean like Star Wolf?"

"Nowhere close. Just Wolf. Or Black Wolf."

"Either way, a name like yours could get you into a lot of trouble if you aren't careful. Especially around here. Star Wolf caused a bunch of problems for us around here."

"Like I give a damn," Akino replied with a yawn, scratching behind his ears. Lucy just glanced at him before returning her gaze to the card.

_Beep Beep_

"Hm?" Lucy put the card down and looked at the computer screen, and Akino knew right away that something was wrong. And if it kept him from getting paid, heads were going to roll.

"That's strange. I logged your delivery as complete, so the job should be done, but it says here that you've yet to fulfill one final objective."

"Yeah?" asked Akino, annoyed.

"Hmm…apparently you're supposed to speak with my father, Peppy Hare, before your mission can be deemed complete. Tough breaks."

"And my money?"

"Once you speak with my father, it should be automatically transferred to your account. But you're in luck, seems he's bringing part of the Cornerian Armada here for a test run of some of the new ships. He should be here in a couple of days." Akino growled, and Lucy cringed a bit, then said, "Ah…or I could have the engineers set your autopilot to the flagship's signal. Your ship should be able to reach its destination in six hours." When she turned back to the door, Akino was gone.

_Maintenance Bay_

Akino ran to his ship, noticing that they had repainted it. Who knew how much more that would cost him. Standing next to _The Clunker_, admiring the paint job most likely, was an older engineer. A Beagle from the looks of him. Akino approached and tapped him on the shoulder unceremoniously.

"Hey, you the top dog around here?"

"You could call me that. Others call me O'Hara. This your rig?"

"Yeah," replied Akino with a bit of pride, smiling. He liked his ship. O'Hara chuckled at this, and Akino frowned.

"What?"

"Not many pilots would fly the old Arwing models, or at least admit to it. They waste too much fuel."

"Yeah but nobody can beat _The Clunker_ while I'm at the wheel. Who cares if the thing drinks fuel like water?" O'hara laughed and gave Akino a knowing smirk before answering.

"Well, with all the mods you've got on that thing I'm not surprised. Bet she's got a few kinks in her, though."

"Yeah?" asked Akino, tensing a little. He'd run into this kind of situation before: an engineer would notice some of the illegal parts on his rig and question him about them. Some would even go to the Feds, and that never ended well. Even now he felt his hand slowly moving to the blaster in its shoulder holster, hidden by his jacket. This motion didn't go unnoticed by O'Hara, and he raised his hands nonthreateningly.

"Easy there, kid. I won't be telling anybody. If anything I'm impressed: I've never met a merc that could tweak an older ship like yours." Akino relaxed a bit and smirked, taking the compliment for what it was.

"Thanks I guess. And yeah, she's got a few problems but I can live with them."

"Well, I'm pleased to tell you that won't be necessary. I fixed the short in your shielding system, and I've gone ahead and replaced your radar system with one that has both a longer range and protection against jamming and decoy measures." Once the old dog was finished, he crossed his arms and nodded. Akino just shook his head and laughed.

"You didn't have to go through all that trouble, you know. Besides all that could get you fired in a hurry." To his surprise, Akino was actually getting along with this guy. Maybe it was the way he seemed to "get it," but he didn't know.

"Ah well, it's not often I get to work on one of the older models. It was my pleasure. And I also got the call frm Ms. Lucy. Your autopilot is set to the signal from Flagship Delta, the ship that General Hare is currently in command of."

"Anything else I need to know?"

"Not to my knowledge. Safe journey, kid!" And with that, Akino was off.

_Five Hours Later_

_Beep_

The initial excitement of finally going to get his payoff was replaced with sheer boredom. What O'Hara hadn't told him before he left was that, once he activated his ships autopilot, he couldn't turn it off until he had reached his destination. Apparently the computer was set on "Priority" and wouldn't react until he was there. Until then, he was stuck.

"Hmmmph..." he growled, trying to get comfortable in his seat. He had pulled his headband down in front of his eyes again, but it didn't help much. He didn't like it when people tampered with his ship, and he liked it even less when he had no control of his situation. He had tried to hack his computer system, but he failed. Not only that, but a personal little message from Lucy had been embedded in the data, so when he failed he also got a little scolding.

_"I thought you might try getting into your system. O'Hara informed me about your techincal prowess. Impressive, but I can't let you do that. It is imperative that you reach my father, and this is to prevent you from flying off. So sorry."_

Akino scoffed at the memory. _"Right. Because I would leave before I got paid. Gimme a break." _He stretched then, and as he was oft to do, he began to talk to himself. It wasn't that he was crazy or anything: it was just a habit that he had developed over the years.

"Still, why would then General want to talk to me anyway. New orders?" Again, Akino laughed at the thought, "Whatever. I may be a mercenary but this job will be enough to refuel, but also to relax for a while. Yeah...I think I deserve a little vacation."

_ "INCOMING SIGNAL...IDENTIFIED...FLAGSHIP DELTA."_

From the radio there was the sound of static before the voice of some random hound came through.

"Attention unidentified vessel. You are approaching Flagship Delta of the Cornerian Armada. Please, state your purpose and content. You have thirty seconds to reply before you are considered hostile and are terminated."

_"Oooh, terminated! Someone's got balls,"_ thought Akino as he reached forward and flipped the switch to the microphone on his radio.

"This is Akino Timber, captain of _The Clunker_, an Arwing Model. The only cargo onboard in myself."

"I read you Captain Timber. Would you please verify with a model number?"

"Of course," said Akino, his voice compliant, even though he felt this was all just a waste of time, "The model number is AR502-47865-44578."

"Checking..." came the reply, and Akino was forced to wait for what seemed like an hour while this pup verified he was who he said he was.

"Roger that, Captain Timber. The General is expecting you. You are cleared to dock in Hangar 3."

"Thanks a lot."

_Fifteen minutes later_

"Ah Akino," came the somewhat raspy voice of General Peppy Hare, who was sitting at the helm of his ship as Akino approached, "I had expected to see you on Fichina, but I see you had other plans."

"Well when I do a job for someone and don't get paid I tend to pay a visit," Akino replied, barely concealing the threat behind his words. The General didn't seem at all afraid, but Akino felt the tension rise in the room, as he was sure some of the personel had heard his words and were now on guard. His blaster seemed awful heavy in it's holster.

"Yes...I'm sorry about that Akino, but you're kind of hard to reach normally, and recent events require immediate action I'm afraid."

"What does that have to with my getting paid?" asked Akino, trying to get to the point. He was here to get paid, not listen to the ramblings of an aging veteran.

"Nothing, acutally," the General replied, catching the wolf off guard, "Johnson, take Captain Timber's I.D. card and scan it, and make sure his payment is transferred to his account."

"Sir!" a rather young looking dog said, jumping up and saluting as he stepped forward, accepting Akino's card as he handed it to him before he left the bridge.

"Is this all you wanted to talk to me about?" asked Akino, now fully content and itching to get off the ship. He'd heard that Aquas was a good vacation spot, especially since it at this point in it's orbit.

"Actually, I have another mission prepared for you. It's quite urgent."

"Sorry old man, I'm not taking any more jobs for a little while," Akino said without grace, turningt away and waving behind him, "Get ahold of another merc."

"You don't seem to understand. This isn't a request. This is an order, soldier." Akino tensed at this. Sure, it wasn't really a secret that he had, in his younger years, been part of the Cornerian Army, but he had long since hung up his coat. He turned and said, "And just what makes you think you can order me around?"

"This mission is important, and so I've taken the liberty of reinstating your military status and assigning you the rank of Fleet Captain. If you refuse, you'll be court marshalled."

"You can't do that..." Akino said angrily, grinding his teeth together. He had the overwhelming feeling that he was being screwed. Peppy merely shook his head sadly and said, "Unfortunately for you, I can. I didn't want to, but honestly I don't trust any other pilots with this job. I can't raise Falco Lambardi on comms, and Slippy Toad is living with his wife on Aquas. They have a child and I couldn't bring myself to tear their family apart."

"Well," Akino said, putting a hand to his chin. On the one hand, he knew that he was just screwed into another mission, and that pissed him off. On the other hand, he had the confidence of the General, a former Star Fox pilot, and that meant that they trusted him. Maybe he could get more money out of the deal at least. Peppy was looking him expectantly at this point.

"Fine. Since I don't have much of a choice in the matter anyway, I'll do it. But not for free."

"Of course you'll be paid."

"I don't think you quite get just how much I'm asking for here."

"Whatever sum, we'll pay it." At this, Akino smiled wide.

**I've decided to continue this fic because, well, I like the idea. I hope to get more readers, and please don't hesitate to look at my other stuff. **


	3. A BrideToBe with No Intel

No matter what happened, Akino wouldn't lose that smile. That's what he had been telling himself over and over again as the General had been briefing him on the mission to come. He just couldn't help it: they would actually pay that much for this mission!

"Still...this won't be a cakewalk, that's for sure," he said, activating the holographic monitor on his ships computer. What came up was a square of light directly in front of him, and on this square was a series of different windows, most just documents. There was a frontal and profile picture of a fox in one of these windows.

_"We've recieved information that Fox McCloud, former leader of the Star Fox team, has been captured by unknown hostiles. He was on Sauria with Krystal at the time, so we believe that the remnants of those loyal to General Scales may be the cause. However, we can leave no possiblities out at this point,"_ the General had said. Akino moved through some of the data as he thought about what this meant. The wolf remembered hearing about how the famous pilot had saved the entirety of Sauria, defeating General Scales. It had turned out that the lizard was being controlled by Andross himself, and even then Fox had gunned the mad scientist down. Still, was it even possible that the remaining soldiers loyal to Scales' cause are to blame. Akino didn't think so.

_"Your mission is to investigate what happened on Sauria and find where Fox is being kept. At this point we can easily send in troops to save him, but if you can get him out safely it would be give us a great advantage. As a Fleet Captain, you are entitled to take any pilots you deem worthy from the crew, or you can enlist the help of any pilot you can think of. I recommend keeping your numbers small, however. This mission_ _isn't an assault, but a rescue."_

Akino had laughed at the prospect of taking any of the crew aboard Flagship Delta. Most of them were fresh out of the Academy: pups still wet behind the ears. They wouldn't do him any good. And the veteran pilots aboard the Flagship would be needed to test the new ships. No point putting rookies behind the wheel of new technology: you'd be out a pilot and a ship. So, the wolf went alone. With any luck, he'd find a pilot worth his salt, and if not he could still handle the mission solo.

"MAKING FINAL APPROACH TO SAURIA. PREPARE FOR LANDING."

Akino looked up to see the lush green planet in full view. Taking up most of his view. He closed down his computer and stretched, cracking his fingers.

_"Find Krystal," _the General had told him after the briefing, _"She'll have some idea of what happened."_

_Planet Surface_

Akino landed in pretty much the only place he could: the top of a temple in what appeared to be the main city of this part of the planet. No matter which direction he looked, all he saw was greenery. It was a veritable jungle, and even the city was covered with plants. Up above, he saw what he thought were birds, but he knew better than that.

"The Sky Runners," he said, a little uneasy at the idea that dinosaurs were alive and well on this planet. Fortunately, it wasn't long before he ran into the person he was looking for: Krystal.

"Well well. Aren't you just a fox," he said with a devilish grin.

"Cut the shit, merc," she replied angrily, "And don't get any ideas: Fox is my fiancee, and you'd do well to remember that. Are you the one Peppy sent?"

"Something like that," Akino said, snapping a quick salute, "Fleet Captain Akino Timber, at your service." He felt like a total tool saying that, and he was surprised at how easily he had slipped into his old habits. Still, he couldn't help but notcie how easily the words rolled off his tongue.

"Yeah, whatever. A mercenary is still a mercenary, regardless of what he calls himself," she said coldly, and Akino felt a little annoyed.

"Listen lady: I want to be hear just about as much as you want me to be here. I kinda got conned into this. The sooner you give me the details, the sooner I can get this over with." He said, and without any more "banter" Krystal filled him in with everything she knew.

-_Fox and Krystal had come to Sauria for the wedding. Their long time friend and King of the Earthwalkers, Tricky, had prepared everything for the big day. It was the day before the wedding that Fox disappeared. She didn't see who had taken him, but she had seen ships in the sky that day. Then again, there were a multitude of ships in the sky that day: friends from all over the galaxy had come to see the two finally get hitched.-_

"Wow...I have to say that your information doesn't really help me all that much. I'm not even sure where to start looking."

"It's all I know," she replied angrily, wiping a tear from her face, "Besides, I have ROB doing a galaxy wide scan on the Great Fox. It should pick up on his communicator and I'll be able to go save him."

"Pretty gung-ho aren't ya?"

"You would be too if you knew what love was, merc."

"Oooh, that's cold. But I'm not here to argue with you, cutie," he recieved a scowl at this, "Anyway, who's to say that he isn't still on planet? From what I know about Sauria, there are some folks here who don't take too kindly to Star Fox."

"His communicator would give a signal if he were on Sauria. And before you say it no, it wasn't the Sharpclaw."

"And why are you so quick to rule them out?" Akino asked, genuinely confused as to why she would take them out of the equation so quickly. As far as he knew she was still harboring a grudge against them. And they certainly had the right skills and intelligence to operate a space craft.

"The Sharpclaw couldn't have done it: they wouldn't have been able to get him off world."

"Bullshit," exclaimed Akino as the two took a seat at the table they had found themselves at. Apparently they were at a cafe' of sorts for off-worlders.

"Excuse you?"

"The Sharpclaw are just as smart as you or I, so they must be able to operate a space craft, and there were plenty of them to take." Akino said as a feline waitress brought the two a couple of drinks, some local beverage that was served in a stone cup and had a purplish color to it. Krystal immediately drank from her cup, while Akino was more interested in the way the waitress walked away. With a little swish of her feline tail, she looked back at him and gave a little wink.

"I told you," Krystal said with a hint of frustration in her voice, "they couldn't have done it. Most have defected from their loyalties to Scales, and those who haven't are kept under strict watch." The young fox's words brought Akino back to the conversation as he looked at her, still smirking, and said, "Then what do you think happened." And he wasn't nearly surprised with her answer.

"Star Wolf," she said, and Akino snorted at her, but said nothing. She merely continued drinking on her beverage.

_"Of course she would suspect Star Wolf. Too bad they've been out of sight for years now,"_ he thought to himself. He wouldn't even know where to start looking for any of the members of that mercenary group, and honestly he didn't really want to. He'd had a run in with the group back when he was no more than a pup. That was an unpleasant experience.

"Well," Akino said suddenly, standing, "If that's all you got for me, I guess I'm going on a galaxy wide hunt. At least the money is worth it." As he walked away he heard her chair scrape against stone ground and he heard his stomp toward him.

"Is the money all you care about?"

"Yeah, actually. Now if you don't mind, I have a job to do. You know: make that money you were talking about." He turned once more and walked away, only to have his arm caught by her. Now Akino, though he could be easily frustrated or annoyed, made it a habit to keep his anger in check around women. It was the polite thing to do...in his eyes at least. But if there was one thing that he absolutely hated, and that was when people touched him. So, as soon as Krystal's hand came into contact with his arm, he whirled on her, baring his fangs.

"What is your problem lady? The longer you keep me from leaving, the longer it's going to take me to find McCloud," he ripped his arm from her grasp at this point, "and don't fucking touch me." He began walking again.

"I want to go with you to find him," Krystal said fearlessly, despite the fury she had just witnessed. He merely scoffed as he walked.

"Sorry. I fly solo," he said, putting his hands in the pockets of his jacket. The communicator in his ear beeped at this point, and he activated it.

"Akino here," he said, becoming once more aware (and annoyed) of Krystals presence as she walked past him, most likely going to her own ship...wherever it may have been.

"Akino...do you read?" came the voice of Lucy Hare. Akino assumed the woman was running communications on his mission. It wasn't uncommon: other people from other missions had done it before.

"Loud and clear."

"Good. Since General Hare believes that the abductors of Fox McCloud may still be in comm range, he-"

"He want's me to use this secured line between yourself and me yeah I know," said Akino. He'd already heard this little speech before, "What is it I'm about to leave Sauria...it's amazing you could get to me from this far." He thought he heard the woman mutter something like "prick" under her breath before she continued.

"I'm calling in for a progress report."

"What progress? The fox girl was a dead end: she didn't have any information I could use, beside her stern belief that the Sharpclaw were in no way involved with the kidnapping. I'm not sure where to look next."

"I see," the woman said, and Akino looked up to see that Krystal had also stopped in her tracks, and seemed to be listening to something. Akino assumed she was also being contacted about her would-be husband. In his ear he could hear the the click-clack of a keyboard before Lucy continued.

"Right. We've got some information you might find useful."

"Great," said Akino, smiling at this first bit of good news, "send it to my ship I'm on the way there now." He began to walk again, and at an accelerated pace.

"Actually, there's been a change in your orders."

"What?" he said, stopping. He didn't like it when his plans were changed.

"From this point on, you are to travel with Krystal aboard the Great Fox. The instruments of said starship are much more powerful than yours, and you're going to need all te help you can get.

"But I-"

"No buts, Black Wolf. These are your orders: take them or don't, it's your head. Krystal is a good pilot, don't worry about it." After that last message, he heard a short beep that signalled the line had been dropped. He closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh before he heard the sound of footsteps.

"Guess you don't have a choice, huh?" she asked, and he could practically taste the smugness in her tone.

_"Guess I'm docking with the Great Fox,"_ he thought as he said nothing in response to her and walked away. She took his silence as a confirmation and laughed before going to her own ship.

_About an hour later_

The Great Fox wasn't all that bad, Akino had decided. After all, he'd always wanted to pilot a ship like this one. Unfortunately, it wasn't him that was in the pilots seat.

"ROB, bring up the video, please," said Krystal from the captains seat, her legs crossed and her hands together in her lap. The robot did as she bade, and a large image of Lucy Hare was put up on the screen. Just from the way she had begun talking, Akino knew that it was just a recording.

"Hello, Akino and Krystal. This video I'm about to show was sent a few hours ago to all military bases throughout the Lylat System. Your next objective will be made clear by the end of it." With that, she pressed a button and disappeared, being replaced by a bruised and beaten Fox McCloud, sitting tied to a chair.

"Fox!" Krystal shouted, knowing that her love couldn't hear her but doing so anyway. Akino, lifting his head from the table before him, said, "Quiet down I can't hear." On screen, a figure had replaced the image. There was a bright light behind the figure, keeping any features obscured. A deep voice filled the room.

"We have your hero, Fox McCloud. His exploits have made him very valuable I'm sure. If you want him back alive, you'll bring a total of twenty-million credits to the coordinates attached to this message. There will be a ship waiting for you there, You have two Cornerian days before we terminate the hostage." With that, the figure was replaced by a screen-full of numbers and letters: the coordinates. Akino read over them quickly but couldn't make heads nor tails of them.

"ROB, calculate our route please." Krystal said as the monitor went black. The robot complied, then said in it's monotone voice, "ROUTE WILL TAKE THE GREAT FOX TO A SMALL CLUSTER OF ASTEROIDS AT THE EDGE OF THE LYLAT SYSTEM. SHALL I ENGAGE THE AUTOPILOT NOW?" At this, Krystal looked over to Akino, who merely kicked back in his chair and pulled his headband over his eyes.

"Don't look at me, Captain," he said to her before he began to doze. At least now he had a lead. As an added plus, Krystal could fly the ship for him, meaning now he could finally get some shuteye. If only he knew just how much trouble they were about to get into.

**I hope this chapter clears up a thing or two. Thank you all for reviewing and urging me to continue. I'm really liking the idea behind this story. Stay tuned!**


	4. An Expected Ambush

"Akino," the voice came to him, soft and distant like that of the distant memory or the long forgotten dream. Or at least that was the way one would put it poetically. The only term he could find for the disturbance was "annoying."

"Akino wake up, we're almost at our destination," the voice came again, clearer now as he was slowly rising from his groggy haze. With one finger he lifted the bandana covering his eyes and opened eye. Though his vision was blurred he could tell it was Krystal because:

A. The blue fur and

B. she was the only other being aboard the Great Fox...beside ROB but he didn't really count that piece of scrap as a person. So, with a groan, he took his feet off the table (long hours of sleeping in the cockpit of _The Clunker_ made that position the norm for him) and stretched before saying, "Yeah yeah, I get you doll-face." He recieved a scowl in answer as she made her way back to the captains seat while Akino took his first real look at his surroundings.

They were in the cockpit of the ship: a relatively small space coompared to the size of the ship itself. To the front was a complete control center that Akino assumed would allow him full access to the ship if he had a mind to use it. There was a holo-screen up currently that took up the entirety of the windshield, beyond which Akino could see the hundreds of twinkling stars in the blackness of space, along with what appeared to be a chain of asteroids. On the holo-screen was a galactic map of the Lylat System, upon which was a small red dot showing their current position: almost to the top left corner of the screen. Basically, they were in the middle of nowhere. Aside from the control panel and holo-screen, the room was fairly bland: a few revolving chairs connected to the floors near the walls at tables with smaller screens on them for God knows what. The table he was sitting at happened to be one of these chairs, and in the center of the room, slightly raised from the rest of the chairs, was the captains chair, along with a smaller version of the control panel at the front of the room. The chair that Akino really wanted to sit in.

"So why are we in the middle of nowhere, exactly?"

"This is where the coordinates led us. A small chain of asteroids that weren't even put on the grid. Also, from what I can tell, there isn't a ship out here either," Krystal replied dejectedly. For a moment felt bad for her, but it was only for a moment. In the back of his mind he knew things wouldn't be as easy as a ransom drop-off: that only worked out in the movies.

"Well, is there anything on radar? They might be using stealth to hide their ship. Doesn't this thing have a detector?"

"Yes it does, but so far we haven't...wait..." she stopped, her eyelids fluttering before she went into a kind of trance. Akino just stared at her for a moment as she started to speak.

"I...can feel...the presence of several beings nearby..." her eyes snapped open and she said, "We have to leave!" Akino knew from the tone of her voice just then as she began to hit the controls that the metaphorical shit had hit the proverbial fan. And he knew that, if they had made it this far, it was already too late to cover the furniture. The holo-screen burst to life, changing to an enlarged version of the radar screen, which had suddenly burst to life with several red dots, all appearing as if from out of nowhere, before the screen fell altogether so that they could see clearly through the windshield. Outside, several flashes of light indicated the appearance of small, sleek ships the likes of which Akino had never seen. They looked kind of like jets, to him.

"This heap better be able to cover me out there!" Akino cried as he leapta from his seat, keeping his balance even as the ship rocked from being hit by laser-fire. Krystal caught on to his intentions immediately and was at his side in a flash as the two raced for the hangar bay. Krystal activated her communicator and told ROB essentially the same thing Akino had barked back at her moments before. When she was done she glanced over at him.

"I'm not going to let you fight on your own."

"I appreciate your concern but I wouldn't want you breaking a nail or anything," he replied as they passed through a door that said "Hangar." In moments he was face-to-face with his ship. With a dexterous leap he was in the cockpit, strapping himself in and starting the engine. As the windshield closed, Akino looked over to see Krystal doing the same, donning a helmet.

_"Pansy,"_ he thought as she held up two fingers, most likely indicating channel two on the communicator. He made the switch.

"All right, we need to stay in touch," Krystal began, "If your...ahem...ship gets too damaged out there I want you to come back to the Great Fox and man a turret. Understood?"

"Aye, Captain," Akino replied sarcastically before basically slamming down on the throttle: a move that was fairly reckless when one considered the close confines of the hangar. Krystal complained but he didn't hear it as his mind went to dogfight mode. He burst from the hangar already firing on his foes, his dual lasers taking out a couple of ships right off the get-go. He howled in victory and pulled around the Great Fox at high speeds, catching a glimpse of Krystal's ship leaving the dock.

"If you're going to be screaming and howling then change the channel. I don't want to hear it," she scolded before disappearing from view. He chuckled at her and he heard her growl.

"Whatever," he said, before turning his attentions back to the fight at hand. Ahead, he watched as a group split apart, aiming to flank him.

_"Knew we'd run into a trap. Fuckin' knew it!"_ he thought, almost excitedly as he quickly planned his next move. He watched as the group, a total of five ships, flew by, three on one side and two on the other. He waited until they were following him, locking on more than likely, and flipped a switch for one of his mods. He couldn't help but grin then: he loved this part. The switch he flipped killed the main engine, while a set of extra thrusters in the nose flipped him upside down, essentially flying backwards while taking aim at his attackers. Lasers glanced off his shielding (he would really have to thank O'Hara again) while he loosed a volley, taking all but two of them out.

"C'mon! You gotta be ready for stuff like that! Did you see that one? Pretty damn sexy huh?" he called as the two ships passed over him and he restarted the main engines, letting him right himself and take off after them. After a moment without an answer, he started to get a little suspicious.

"Krystal? Hot-stuff? Still there?" he asked, and finally she spoke.

"Would you shut up I'm trying to concentrate!" she said, and he looked up to see her chasing down an enemy. He also noticed that three more, including the two that had just passed him, were on her tail. Or at least they were, until a huge blast took out two of them.

"Hey, you got one on-"

"I know leave it be. I've got this," she responded before he could finish, and Akino couldn't help but feel kind of pissed off.

_"Fine, get shot down. Bitch,"_ he thought, switching off his comms. However, he was never one to just leave a girl hanging. With an angry growl he pulled behind her pursuer, blasting him until he exploded. Meanwhile, Krystal downed her own opponent. With disappointment, Akino noticed that hers was also the last of their enemies that he could see.

_The Great Fox_

"I can't believe that all this was a trap! What are we going to do now?" Krystal yelled, slamming her helmet down as they walked back to the bridge of the Great Fox.

"Don't go getting your panties all twisted over it. I saw it coming anyway. Surprised you didn't, Miss Psychic." Before he could react, he felt the sting of her hand across his face, and before he could react to _that_, she was gone. He was pissed, for sure, but he wouldn't act on it. He tried to be noble when it came to women. Either way, she was starting to get on his last nerve. Fuckin' orders.

Upon arriving on the bridge, Akino walked up to the captain's chair and sat. He was alone, and honestly he wouldn't have cared otherwise. the holo-screen said there was an incoming message, so he took it. Appearing on the screen was someone in a helmet, the glass visor tinted so he couldn't see his the man talking to him.

"Hello. I take it this is the pilot that took out my squadron?"

"Yeah, sure," Akino answered, smirking, "though I must say it's kind of underhanded to stage ransom."

"Well, I'm sure you would know. It's obvious you're a mercenary of sorts. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for showing us what your kind is capable of." Then, without another word, the transmission ended.

"You trace that, ROB?" asked Akino, and the robot just gave a resounding "Affirmative." Akino grinned widely.

"Take us there."

**Bam. I had honestly forgotten how well written I thought it was. Gonna update some more later I think. R&R preese.**


	5. A Less Expected Ambush

"You're sure that's where the message came from, ROB?" asked Krystal, back in the captains chair. Akino was back at the table, snoozing with his headband over his eyes.

"AFFIRMATIVE. THE SIGNAL WAS TRACED BACK TO THIS COMPLEX," answered the robot. Through the windshield loomed a space station. It wasn't the biggest, but it certainly wasn't small. And it was, to what Krystal could see and feel, completely empty. She looked over to the black wolf, still sleeping soundly, and sighed with frustration. How was it that he could be so calm at a time like this? From what ROB had told her of the message, Fox's captors had no intention of letting him go. It had been a setup from the very beginning. It was only a matter of time before...

"SCANNERS DETECT THAT ALL HANGAR BAYS ARE OPEN. WILL YOU BE ENTERING THE COMPLEX?"

"What? And risk breaking a nail?" asked Akino, rousing from his sleep. He had caught the last part of ROB's question, and couldn't help himself.

"I'll have you know I am formally trained in several types of martial arts, including the use of combat staves. I can take care of myself," Krystal answered hotly, but Akino had already begun to walk away, scratching his head and yawning.

"Prick," she muttered, crossing her arms.

After a few minutes of walking, Akino found himself next to _The Clunker_. He reached up and made sure his blaster was secure in its holster, then glanced down to the combat knife he kept in the sheath on his boot.

"Hope I don't have to use them," he said to no one in particular, lifting himself up into the cockpit and preparing to take off. However, he couldn't help but smirk at the prospect of actually fighting.

_On the Station_

The flight to the station had been uneventful. Akino had flown to the closest open hangar, giving him just enough time to get instructions from Krystal, who seemed to suddenly think she was in charge of this mission.

_"Get in and do a scan on your wrist communicator. If Fox is in there then he'll show up on the locator. Clear?" _she had asked. He had given a gruff grunt in the affirmative, then parked his ship inside. From what he could tell, the station was a warehouse of sorts. The first room he enterered was huge, looking more like a factory than a space station, and many crates lined the walls, both metal and wooden. Most of the them were marked "M.R.E./Property of the Cornerian Army."

"God, they still eat those things?" Akino said, remembering all too well the gruesome taste that accompanied the army's M.R.E.'s..."meals ready to eat." With a bored look on his face, Akino started the scan on his locator, only having to wait for a few seconds before something showed up: two small blips, one that seemed to be on the second level (a level below him) and one on the same level. As a matter of fact, it seemed to be in the same room even.

"Huh...that's-" was all he could manage before a laser burned past him, barely catching his left ear.

"Ah, fuck!" he cried, rolling out of a short burst of laser fire and drawing his own blaster, ducking down behind a crate and holding it at the ready. Another trap? Really? What the hell was with these guys?

"All right, buddy!" he yelled over the crate, which had been battered with another round of laser fire, "I'm startin' to get pissed off!" He looked down at his locator, figuring where his foe was firing from (behind another set of boxes) and charged, howling as he loosed a volley from his blaster and ducking as more lasers passed him by. His enemy, meanwhile, darted out from behind his own cover. He wore a set of full protection armor, covering him from head to toe. Just where the helmet and chest met, however, Akino could see a patch of grey fur. His target. Lunging forward, Akino blasted a few shots before attempting a palm strike to disarm his attacker, only to watch as both his and his foes gun went flying across the warehouse. Growling, Akino backflipped away, drawing his combat knife.

"Give it up, kid," his enemy said, drawing his own blade, "you can't mess with the best."

"Bring it on! I'll tear you apart!" Akino said, smiling widely. He didn't necessarily want a fight, especially with an opponent quite as well armored as this one, but he couldn't help but feel good as the adrenaline coursed through his veins. His part said, he lunged again, knife aimed for the small chink in his foes armor, but his attack was blocked by a sideswipe and countered with another thrust, which Akino dodged, kicking at his opponents head. He was successful, and the helmet flew off as his opponent leapt back out of range. Akino stopped in his tracks as he gazed upon the grey wolf before him, one eye closed with a large pink scar over it.

"Star Wolf?"

**Kind of short, kind of cliff hangery, I know. But I've got a good idea behind this story and I hope I won't disappoint. R&R please.**


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